Main menu

Post navigation

No Time Off For These Campers

Alexis and Iona really stepped outside their comfort zone

Every time we have camp it never fails, the boys have a tendency to out number the girls. With more boys to choose from, we have a tendency to see more boys shine during the camp itself. The Espanola camp was not one of those times. Alexis and Iona are both in a league of their own when it comes to shining.

Alexis came to camp very quiet. The first couple of hours of camp I could see her intensity during the drills, but rarely heard her voice when it came time to call out a specific thing they had to do. There was a particular moment when Alexis was asked to work on her lay up form, so that she could maximize on every attempt. As coach Jared worked with her, she became very frustrated. Coach tried to calm her down, and she explained, “I just want to be better, I want to get better”! She began working on the drill again, until finally it came time for the campers to get water. Instead of getting water though, Alexis continued working on the drill, and from the looks of it, she was going at a faster pace each time to make sure she could maximize on the time she had remaining. When a ball would get away, she sprinted to get the ball and returned back into the formation so that she didn’t waste time.

She came into the camp quiet, but by day two, as new campers showed up, during the breaks she would take the three new girls off to one of the baskets and show them what they missed the day before. She was the leader of the group, no doubt, and she got the girls understanding the concept of getting the most out of every situation. She never wasted her time. When most of the campers were playing during the breaks, she took that time to work on what she knew she needed. In most camps Alexis would stand out alone, but this camp featured someone very similar to her.

Iona came into camp unable to really do much with the basketball. What I mean by that is, although she was able to dribble and get the ball up towards the rim, she did not possess the proper form to better her chances for success with the game. She was a very alert kid, however, and always made sure to be one of the first ones to the drill, and was rarely the first one to stop. She responded quickly when asked, and she never took breaks from what the campers were doing. Many times, kids will stop and want to drink water in the middle of a drill, or want to go to the bathroom, but not Iona, she never stopped.

By day two, the player that came in without the ability to keep a low stance with a consistent dribble was no more. Iona, in just one day of hard work had improved so much that her shot had the right form, and she no longer just threw the ball up praying for it to go in. She looked like she had an idea of where it was going. I am not saying she was a great shooter, lord knows she still needed work, but I am saying she was able to get her foundation set so that she could now practice on becoming a great shooter. What impressed me so much about Iona, is her ability ask a question. She always asked a question, and them applied the answer in her drill. She understood that those that ask will find, and she saw people with answers. She didn’t just let those answers leave town without a giving her some kind of knowledge.

Both Iona and Alexis are great examples of what running the walk is all about. Both stepped outside their comfort zone with the readiness to get better. Both understood that it was not just a drill they were learning, but rather they applied the drill to their game and were able to link the purpose very quickly. Both of these girls made the people around them better, either by vocally explaining or physically doing the drill. They were the example for many to look at, and at the end of the two days, both girls increased on their game dramatically.

We are looking forward to seeing both of you girls go far in life! Thank you for running the walk, you made the camp so much better for us and for those around you. Keep Running!